My language tutor and I have been discussing the roles of various people in society: women, men, children, etc. Last week we were discussing the role of elders. Among other things, one proverb that came up was: Ashibaye hamjui mwenye njaa means ‘The full one does not know the hungry one’. […]
A while ago, I floated a theory about the emotional life of Tanzanians. It went something like this: the hierarchical nature of society in Tanzania means people do not get practice at identifying and expressing their emotions, because they are expected to repress them and obey those who are over […]
My second hunch about Tanzanian women is a bit more complicated than the first, and a lot more speculative. Theory Two: women’s progress in Tanzania is hampered because their emotional expression is limited. Tanzanian society in general is hierarchical. Those at the top have the power and those at the […]
Meet Jesus at uni 